Sunday 22 September 1940

Sunday 22 September 1940

Reduced activity.

Night: London attacked.

Weather: Dull with fog in morning. Cloudy in afternoon, fair to fine late. Some rain.

Main Activity:

Twelve single raiders flying high over London and the noise of No. 234 Squadron’s Browning guns shooting down a lone Ju 88 scarcely disturbed this Sunday’s congregations. Even the sound of Merlin engines was strangely absent, for the squadrons flew only 158 sorties—the smallest number since the Battle began. German losses were five machines while the RAF lost none.

By midnight the situation had changed; London, in the words of Lord Alanbrooke, was like Dante’s Inferno.

Twelve night fighters — Blenheims and Defiants — tried to intercept, but though the Luftwaffe gave them a selection of 123 bombers to shoot at no victories were recorded.

Nazi bombers were still over the capital in the early hours. Others mixed with Bomber Command streams returning from Germany and sneaked through the defences to attack airfields in Lincolnshire, including Digby, where they set fire to a hangar.